Red warning lights which tell pilots not to taxi planes on runways were “unserviceable” during an air crash in Japan which killed five people, according to an alert system.
Air traffic control transcripts from moments before the crash show how a coastguard plane was told to wait at a holding spot beside the runway minutes before it collided with a Japan Airlines (JAL) flight preparing to land at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
However, red warning lights, known as stop bars, for that holding spot and several others on the runway were “unserviceable” at the time, according to a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) alert.
Five people on the coastguard plane were killed but all 379 people on the JAL flight were safely evacuated.
Only the captain of the smaller coastguard aircraft survived, a coastguard official said.
Officials investigate the scene
‘Almost certain’ crash avoided if lights worked
Stop bars are used as an extra safety measure to prevent planes from entering a runway when it is in use.
Even if an air traffic controller gives the green light for a plane to taxi onto the runway, pilots are trained to refuse if the stop bar lights are still on.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICA) also says pilots should “never cross” the lights when illuminated and air traffic controllers should “never instruct a pilot or vehicle driver to cross an active stop bar except when contingency measures are in place”.
When stop bars are unserviceable – either because they are not working or they cannot be switched off – airports are advised to use “follow-me” vehicles in their place.
One industry source told Sky News that, while stop bars being out of operation would not have caused the crash, they “almost certainly would have prevented it”.
Sky News has contacted Haneda Airport and Japan’s Transport Ministry for comment.
A stop bar. File pic
Pilot denies entering runway